The soul and heart of Moscow is Red Square. This place witnessed the most momentous events in the life of the country: from Lobnoye Mesto heralds read out tsarist decrees, through the Spassky Gate troops marched out from the Kremlin to war, and rulers came out to the people.
And it all began rather prosaically: with a market square moved beyond the Kremlin walls in the 15th century. For several centuries, lively trade was conducted here: stone shopping arcades were built for the wealthier, while ordinary people set up right under the open sky. Grand fairs and cheerful folk festivities were also held here.
The appearance and character of the square began to change in 1625, when a Gothic tower was erected above the Spassky Gate, adorning the square. The area between the new Spasskaya Tower, Saint Basil's Cathedral and Lobnoye Mesto was so beautiful that people began to call this part of the square "red" - that is, beautiful.
Then this name spread to all the space not occupied by the shopping arcades, and in 1661, by decree of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the square officially became Red Square.
Red Square is indeed one of the most beautiful squares in the world; the buildings on it are clad in crimson and decorated in the style of Russian ornamentation. The fairy-tale Saint Basil's Cathedral looks like a gingerbread palace, and the towers of the Kremlin and the Historical Museum, for all their solidity, are charming and resemble illustrations from a colorful book about an ideal world.
